Scam Watch

Facebook reportedly suffered another major data breach this week, though this time it wasn’t the company’s fault. According to a report from the BBC, hackers stole the private messages of 81,000 accounts and are now selling access to them for $.10 per account. The perpetrators behind the alleged attack first contacted the BBC Russian Service,

Facebook recently embarked on an initiative to prevent misinformation from spreading on the platform, and it also cracked down on hundreds of profiles in a so-called “spam purge.” However, according to a report in Ars Technica, other kinds of scams may be filling the vacuum left by this blocked content. Security analyst Randy Abrams told

Watch out: There’s a new hoax making the rounds on Facebook that claims your account has been “cloned.” This scam arrives in the form of a post or message from one of your existing Facebook friends saying that they’ve received a duplicate friend request from you — or someone claiming to be you. Of course,

With its massive user base and worldwide reach, Facebook is the perfect tool for cybercriminals looking to scam the most possible people. That includes targeting users at their most vulnerable, like when they’re depressed, out of work or struggling with addiction. Thankfully, Facebook cracked down on the latter this week when it restricted advertising for

When Facebook announced that it’s working on a dating app that will launch later this year, many privacy experts expressed concern. After all, Facebook already knows nearly everything about us — does it need to know the intimate details of our romantic lives, too? But there’s another, less obvious issue that has some experts sounding

Because of its simplicity and cost-free use, Facebook is fertile ground for scammers and con artists. However, Facebook typically provides users with methods to defend themselves or report an issue if they fall victim to a scam. But occasionally, a flaw in the system allows cybercriminals to take advantage of innocent users without consequence. One

The latest viral hoax sweeping across Facebook claims the site will limit the content you can see in your News Feed to 26 friends. This fake article claims Facebook will “choose the people” for you. Of course, this sounds silly on its face, but Facebook still went on the record this week to deny it.

A man in Mesa, Arizona, fell victim to a nasty holiday scam on Facebook this week when he discovered a GoFundMe page raising money for his own funeral. Jared Aguilar’s Facebook page was tagged in the post, and it was shared 15 times by family and friends. The scam was attempting to raise $5,000 for

It’s a sad reality of Facebook: after tragedy strikes, you can be sure con artists will try to trick people into handing over their hard-earned cash. That’s what happened last week when a Facebook scam offering to send victims of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey on a cruise went viral. The post, which was shared

There is a new strain of malware making the rounds on Facebook that packs a unique punch. Dubbed “Instant Karma” by researchers, the bug comes packaged in a fake software program that promises users the ability to hack other people’s profiles. In other words, the malware’s victims are themselves up to some pretty shady business.